The Reporter and the Artist
by Sutyuio9402
Summary: Chloe decides she wants to be the one to uncover Ladybug's identity. Using his knowledge of her scheme and blackmail, Nathan plans to get revenge on Chloe for years of humiliation. Chloe desires fame. Nathan wants closure. Both of them get far more than they bargained for.
1. Ideas

Chloe ran her fingers on her replica Ladybug yoyo. Her eyes were fixated on the flat screen TV as she watched her idol defeat another akuma.

"Go, Ladybug!" Chloe cheered. "You got this!"

As the hero tossed her lucky charm into the air, Chloe saw reporters waiting to interview Ladybug. Chloe wished that reporters would jump at the chance to interview her.

"Why don't they like me as much? I'm pretty, I'm rich, and I'm adored by the public!" Chloe tapped her chin. "Ladybug's adored by the public. She's not rich, and she NEEDS a makeover, so I have TWO things she doesn't."

Chloe smiled. "But Ladybug GIVES the reporters reasons to interview her."

The girl shrieked and leaped to her feet. "I know! I'll do something SO great, SO fabulous, and SO amazing, everyone will want my attention!"

She turned to the TV. "Even Ladybug!"

"Of course, simply being myself should be enough to be the most famous and adored person on the planet," Chloe laughed. "As if anyone wouldn't love me."

Her phone pinged with a text. Chloe read it and stomped her foot. "Sabrina! Honestly, how stupid can you be! _Of course I wanted the 24-carat necklace!_ She is such an IDIOT!" Chloe furiously typed a reply and hit send, then threw her phone back in her bag.

"I'm just so likable!" Chloe sighed contently. "Getting more attention should be easier than choosing between that 24-carat necklace and that cheap 12-carat one."

Her eyes fluttered back to the TV, where Ladybug was still answering questions. "And I know exactly how to do it."

* * *

Chloe pulled silk black gloves over her hands. Her usual yellow jacket was replaced with a dark metallic golden one, and her white capris and flats were replaced by combat boots and black jeans. Chloe laughed at her reflection. "Silly moi, i forgot! My adoring fans will totally recognize me! I need a mask, just like Ladybug!"

Chloe rushed to her closet and found her Halloween mask she had worn to a masquerade party. After removing the feathers and jewels, it was a simple black mask with golden embroidery. Chloe put the mask on and pulled out her hair tie. With her hair down and a mask, Chloe looked vastly different.

With her delusions and vanity, however, her "adoring fans" would still mob her in the streets. Chloe had every kind of makeup there was, and she didn't even use half of it. As she had told Sabrina, "A vanity stand full of makeup is a princess in the making.

Chloe snatched a palette she had never used. She washed off her blue eyeshadow and lipgloss and switched it for a glittering gold and black ombré effect and black lipstick.

Without her trademark look, the girl was thoroughly unrecognizable. Chloe took no time at all, only fifteen minutes, to admire her reflection's "beauty and mystery". Snatching her camera off o her bedstand, Chloe climbed through her window and used the fire! escape to get down to the ground.

A flash of red flew over the buildings above her. Chloe smiled with sastisfaction and took off in a run.

Chloe pulled out her phone and checked the news, using a live stream to follow the action.

As she sprinted down the street, Chloe felt beads of sweat trickle down her face. Expression twisted with horror, she darted into an alley between two buildings.

"No, no, no!" Chloe cried, using a satin handkerchief to dab at her forehead. "I simply cannot be sweating right now! I'm Chloe, the beloved daughter of the Mayor! I'm practically royalty!"

"Chloe?" A voice echoed through the alleyway. "What are you doing here?"

Chloe whipped around. "Nathan?!" She snapped. "We're you following me?"

Nathan narrowed his eyes. "Why would I follow you? I was drawing on the patio behind my house." He guestured to the building on his right.

"And you just decided to run over here at exactly the same moment I was here?!" Chloe crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Well, you weren't exactly being very sneaky." Nathan studied her carefully. "What's with the costume?"

Chloe suddenly remembered her mission and became very defensive. "Hey, how did you recognize me?"

Nathan wanted to tell her that he only knew one person who's voice reflected how bratty and spoiled she was. "Who else would refer to themselves as the beloved daughter of the Mayor?"

Chloe sneered at him and cut her eyes into a nasty glare. "Whatever. But I swear, if you ever mention this little encounter to ANYONE, I will have you arrested!"

Nathan rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He turned and walked to the end of the alley. Chloe watched as he pulled back a piece of wood ad slipped through metal bars to return to his art.

"That boy...!" Chloe muttered, kicking at the ground. She took out her phone and pulled up the news.

"... Ladybug and Cat Noir have saved the day yet again," the reporter was saying.

Chloe shrieked in frustration. "Ugh! I missed my chance!" She whirled around to face the end of the alley. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT NATHAN!" Chloe screamed, knowing he could hear her.

* * *

The next day, Chloe walked into school with her head held high. This morning she had packed her stalking outfit into a special golden duffel bag that was tucked into her locker.

The idea of having a secret excited her. A light-hearted giddy feeling settled over her, similar to the feeling she had when on a shopping spree.

With tremendous poise and a royal attitude, Chloe sat down her desk. As Nathaniel passed her desk, she didn't hesitate to shoot him a glare colder than Antarctica.

Nathaniel retaliated with a sweet smile and looked away.

Flustered, Chloe turned back to the front of the room. "Screw you," she muttered under her breath. She stole another glance back at him and was annoyed to see he was immersed in his sketchbook.

Nathaniel was watching Chloe with his peripheral. He knew his lack of attention would get under her skin.

 _How do you like that, Chloe? How do you like being ignored?_ Nathaniel wanted to scream. Chloe was playing checkers, and Nathaniel was playing chess. He knew exactly how to play this.

He knew that Chloe's little scheme to expose Ladybug was the most important thing to her. He also knew that Chloe would kill him if he revealed this little secret now.

Nathaniel turned to a clean page in his sketchbook and began to draw out a plan.

Meanwhile, Alya was briefing Marinette over her newest entry to the Ladyblog.

"And then Ladybug dropped this!" Alya took out a sleek black ballpoint pen with golden designs.

"That's so cool!" Marinette tried to look happy for her friend. _My favorite pen!_

"Should I keep it?" Alya rolled it around in her hand. "It's pretty sweet, but I could get a lot of money to put towards my Ladyblog for selling it."

"What would you buy?" Marinette asked, trying to think of a way to get her favorite pen back.

"Maybe a new bike. My bike is cool and all, but if I got some faster wheels it would be easier to get cool footage. I already asked for a new camera for my birthday, so I pretty much already have one," Alya explained.

"Speaking of which, when's your birthday party gonna be?" Marinette asked.

"Next Friday," Alya smiled. "I already invited a couple people."

"Not me?" Marinette pouted.

"Girl, you are automatically invited! That's how best friends work!"

"I was kidding," Marinette giggled. "So who did you invite?"

"Juleka, Rose, Nino, Adrien-" Alya paused to see her friends reaction.

"What!?" Marinette froze. "You invited Adrien! Ugh! I'm gonna act like a total idiot and then he's gonna know I'm a total clutz and never ever want to be seen near me again!" She hissed.

"Chill! Adrien isn't like that," Alya placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "You'll do great!"

* * *

After class, Chloe caught up with Marinette and Alya.

"Oh, hi Chloe," Alya crossed her arms reproachfully, "out to ruin somebody's life again?"

"You little-" Chloe forced her rising anger down. "Is that really Ladybug's pen?"

"Yes," Alya reached into her purse and closed her hand around the pen protectively, as if Chloe were about to steal it.

"I'll pay you for it!" Chloe pulled out her wallet. "I need that pen!"

Alya bit her lip. The pen was precious, but a new bike could really help her Ladyblog.

"How much?"

Chloe pulled out a bill and waved it in Alya's face. Her brown eyes followed it.

"Woah." Alya whistled. "That's a great deal."

"Alya!" Marinette snarled. "A word!?" She pulled Alya away from Chloe.

"Alya, are you really gonna strike a deal with _Chloe?!_ " Marinette asked.

"I hate her as much as, well, everybody else," Alya rubbed the back of her neck. "But who else is gonna pay me that much for a pen?"

Marinette sighed. "Good point."

"Look, is it a deal or not!? I don't have all day!" Chloe yelled.

"I'm sorry, Mari, but I really need that bike!" Alya turned away and walked back over to Chloe.

"Thank you." Chloe snatched the pen away and tossed the bill towards Alya. "You should use that money to fix your hair," she added.

"What's wrong with my hair!?" Alya was taken aback.

"Mm, how do I say this," Chloe leaned forward and squinted, "everything." With that she tossed her hair and walked away.

Alya clenched her fists with concealed rage. "That little snake!" She growled.

Marinette touched Alya's arm. "I think your hair looks pretty. It's so soft and shiny," she smiled.

"Thanks, Marinette," Alya ran her fingers through it self-consciously.

"Hey, at least you can buy that bike now!" Marinette tried to cheer her up. "Don't listen to Chloe, at least you aren't famous because your parents raised you to be a brat! You're famous because you're dedicated to your Ladyblog."

Alya lifted her gaze from the ground. "You're right, Marinette. And after I get this bike, I'm going to be able to follow all the action!"

* * *

"Chloe!" Nathaniel sprinted after her.

"Ugggh." Chloe groaned. "What do you want!?" She snapped, whipping around furiously.

"Ah, I just figured you might want to hear me out," Nathaniel yawned.

"Why would _I_ want to listen to _you!?_ " Chloe put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him.

Not even remotely intimidated, Nathaniel met her icy gaze. "Because you're going to let me work with you, or I will spill your little scheme to the press. If you didn't know, that alley you were in is monitored by my parent's security cameras. I have the tapes that show your little failure yesterday in a safe place, and I will gladly give them to the public so everyone can see how much of a bratty failure you are," Nathaniel smiled at her coyly.

Shocked, Chloe was speechless for a second. "I'll have you arrested," she stuttered.

"But that won't undo the damage to your image." Nathaniel let the words sink in.

"Well, uh, you, I, don't..!" Chloe backed down. "What do you want from me?"

"I want to work with you. I want to help you expose Ladybug."

Chloe swelled with anger. "I hate you! I hate you so much!"

"Yeah, I know." Nathaniel began to flip through his sketchbook. Not taking his eyes off the pages, he asked, "So are we going to your place or mine?"


	2. Getting Started

**Thanks to those who have read the story so far! Please leave a review if it isn't too much trouble.**

 **Have a great day! :)**

* * *

"Your dad just lets you take random boys to your room?" Nathan stared at her from the other side of the elevator.

"Daddy doesn't care," Chloe rolled her eyes.

"So what's your plan?" Nathan asked. "Or do you not even have one?"

"Uh, follow Ladybug and get a picture of her when she de-transforms?" Chloe answered with a condescending tone, as if Nathan was stupid for not knowing this.

"Nathaniel is way too long. Can I just call you Nathan?" Chloe whined.

"Sure, whatever," Nathan placed two fingers and a thumb to his forehead in a silent facepalm. "Chloe, you need an actual game plan. Better people than you have tried exposing Ladybug's identity and failed."

"What do you mean, 'better people than me'?! Nobody's better than me!"

Nathan took a deep breath. _Revenge is sweet, revenge is sweet, revenge is sweet._ He reminded himself.

"Do I get a cool disguise?"

Chloe shot him a steely glare. "Well, of course! I can't be seen with you in public."

"I meant for following Ladybug."

"Oh." Chloe examined her nails. "That too, I guess."

Nathan clenched his jaw and had to make a physical effort to not shoot back a sharp retort.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Chloe and Nathan walked to her room in silence.

* * *

After they walked into the apartment, Nathan's jaw dropped. "Woah! You live here?!"

"No, I just walked into some random stranger's room." Chloe snapped. "Of course its my room, you dork!"

She studied him strangely. "You should know! You tried to kill me here." Chloe pointed her finger at him accusingly.

"I don't remember what I did when I was akumatized." Nathan replied calmly. "Do you remember trying to kill Ladybug?"

"No," Chloe struggled to come up with a witty response. "Look, we are wasting time!" She groaned.

"Turn on the TV so we can monitor the news," Nathan ordered, "I'm gonna go change into my disguise," he held up a golden bag identical to Chloe's.

"Fine," Chloe grabbed the remote off of her bed. "Hey, we have the same-"

Nathan paused and looked at her. "What?"

"Nothing," Chloe didn't want to admit they had something in common.

He shook his head and went off to get changed.

When he returned, he wore a black velvet hat that folded over his ears, hiding his easily identifiable hair. Under his leather jacket was a black shirt. His jeans were deep indigo and his feet were tucked into sturdy black leather boots.

"You designed that!?" Chloe burst out laughing. "Oh-em-gee! You and that weirdo Marinette were made for each other!"

Nathan raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, just like you and Adrien."

"Get it? 'Cause she designs clothes too!" She paused, as if just now processing his comment. "Hey, what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm over her, sweetheart." Nathan sighed.

"Don't call me sweetheart!" Chloe snarled.

"Okay," Nathan laughed, "sweetheart."

"Whatever, loser," Chloe huffed.

"I am a loser," Nathan smiled sweetly, "That's why I accept it."

Chloe glared at him. "Why are you so annoying?"

Nathan shrugged.

She huffed at him angrily. "Loser."

"Like you said, we are wasting time. Why don't you go find me a mask or something?" While Nathan was able to keep his arrogant façade, mentally he had slammed his head into the wall. Repeatedly.

"Fine, loser." Chloe sneered, storming off.

Nathan smiled. "Doing good, Nath," he told himself quietly.

"Attention Paris!" The reporter on the TV began. "A man calling himself the 'Imprisoner' is at large! Parisians everywhere are trapped in unbreakable cages!"

"Chloe!" Nathan called. "Its go time!"

Chloe dashed into the bathroom and threw her disguise on. She threw Nathan's mask at him and they were out the door in a flash.

"You're going down Ladybug!" She cackled, pulling Nathan towards the elevator.

The elevator did not come. After thirty seconds, Chloe began repeatedly pressing the button. "UGGGH!" She screamed.

Nathan grabbed her hand. "C'mon," he pulled her towards the stairs. "Let's run."

The pair sprinted as fast as they could down the stairs without tripping. They managed to get to the lobby in five minutes.

"When the reporters interview me," Chloe gasped for air as they exited the building, "you'd better not block the camera's view of me."

"Sure," Nathan panted.

They surveyed the sky. "Where are they?!" Chloe choked out.

Nathan saw a flash of red across the sky. "This way!"

He grabbed Chloe's hand again and pulled her in the right direction. "I can run by myself, you know," Chloe ripped her hand away and struggled to run ahead of him.

"What do we have here?" A sinister voice stopped them in their tracks.

Chloe whipped around and became face to face with the Imprisoner.

"She's Golden Lens, the famous reporter," Nathan snapped, "and I'm Silver Ink, her accomplice." He ignored Chloe's attempts to pull him away.

"Well Golden Lens and Silver Ink, you seem to have a little too much freedom." The Imprisoner snapped his fingers and they were trapped in a cage.

"Sorry, I would talk more, but I have more freedom to restrict." With a whoosh of his chainmail cape he was gone.

"Golden Lens?" Chloe raised her eyebrows.

"And Silver Ink. You're welcome." Nathan held his head high.

"You gave us names without my permission!"

"Okay, Chloe. I'm sorry for naming us without permission." Nathan sighed, exhausted from arguing with her.

"You should be!" Chloe tossed her hair and crossed her arms.

"Why are you so angry all the time?" Nathan asked innocently.

"What do you mean?"

"You just seem very angry. Why are you mad?" Nathan repeated.

"I'm not angry, you are just wrong!" Chloe stomped her foot.

"And I said I was sorry." Nathan leaned against the bars of the cage. "Arguing isn't getting us out of this cage."

Chloe yanked on the bars of the cage. "What _is_ going to get us out of here?!"

Nathan sighed. "I'm sorry Chloe, but I don't think there is a way we can get out until after Ladybug uses her lucky charm object to fix everything."

Chloe leaned back on the cage and slumped to the ground.

"Why?" She muttered. "Why can't I do this?"

"Chloe, its the second try." Nathan pointed out. "Everything will be okay."

"When?" Chloe asked. "When, Nathan? When will everything be okay?"

The desperation in her voice shocked him. "Look, we'll get it next time." He lied.

"Whatever," Chloe rolled her eyes, seemingly uninterested.

Nathan sat on the other end of the cage, and didn't speak with her for the rest of the time they spent imprisoned.

* * *

The next day, not one exchange was made between Golden Lens and Silver Ink. It was as if both of them had made a silent pact with each other: No interactions out of costume.

Nathan wanted nothing to do with Chloe during school hours. Chloe, however, was waiting for him to talk to her about the previous day. She expected him to be honored to work with her, and to want to talk to her about their next tactics in front of the class and spread the word that they were working together.

She had even thought up of ways to shoot him down when he tried to start a conversation.

When he continued to ignore her, Chloe felt weird. Like maybe he didn't want to talk to her. But he had been so friendly towards her yesterday. Almost as if they were friends.

Chloe was utterly confused. Were they friends?

 _No._ Chloe told herself. _And we will never be friends, especially after the way he blackmailed himself into being my partner!_

She shook her head. _Why am I obsessing over Nathan? Why do I care what he thinks?_

The troubled girl placed an elbow on her desk and leaned her chin on her hand.

* * *

Nathan was in his room when his phone pinged with a text.

 **hey loser, its chloe**

An unexpected smile flashed across his face. He quickly saved her as a contact and typed his reply.

 **Nathan: hiya, sweetheart. how did u get my number?**

 **Chloe: i'm the mayor's daughter i could get anybody's number**

 **Chloe: and don't call me sweetheart!**

 **Nathan: alright chloe what do you want**

 **Chloe: well if ur going 2 ignore me at school we need a way to communicate**

 **Nathan: i thought u would want me to ignore u**

 **Chloe: ?**

 **Nathan: u ignore me every other day**

 **Chloe: yeah but now we have a job 2 do**

 **Nathan: speaking of which we need a code**

 **Chloe: why would we need a code that's so stupid**

 **Nathan: so we can make sure we r talking 2 each other**

 **Chloe: its still stupid but fine**

 **Nathan: how about i say sweetheart and u say loser**

 **Chloe: really**

 **Chloe: that wouldn't work**

 **Nathan: y not**

 **Chloe: anyone would call u a loser**

Chloe wanted to create the code herself. She stared at the fifty-inch flat screen TV and then her gaze fell down to the floor.

 **Chloe: i say tv and u say floor**

 **Nathan: sure**

Nathan didn't care about the code, as long as there was one.

 **Chloe: i g2g bye loser**

 **Nathan: bye sweetheart**

After hitting send, Nathan turned his phone on silent and leaned back on his bed. He knew Chloe had probably replied to his final message, and that his silence was killing her.

As the evening faded into night, he slid into his computer desk and began to draw using the new digital art program.

* * *

"Why isn't he replying!?" Chloe threw herself on her bed. "I tell him that I've got to go hoping he'll try to convince me to stay and all I get is 'bye sweetheart'?!"

Chloe flung her pillow across the room.

"Nathaniel, STOP IGNORING ME!"

* * *

At about 10:00 pm, Nathan picked up his phone and was shocked to see twenty-nine texts from Chloe. He had been so immersed in his art he had forgotten about her.

 **Nathan: hi chloe sorry i thought u had 2 go**

Chloe smiled as her phone beeped. "It's about time!" She huffed.

 **Chloe: oh false alarm it got cancelled**

 **Nathan: what do u need?**

Chloe paused. "Why do you want to talk to him?" She asked herself. "Oh, Chloe! You're just being nice! Talking to you is like talking to royalty, and that kid needs to feel special if he is going to be my partner."

 **Chloe: i'm bored and want to discuss ladybug tactics**

 **Nathan: ok i have some ideas**

Both teens stayed up late into the night, discussing strategy with the exact opposite of who they would talk to as a friend.


	3. A Picture and a Party

**Can I just say that writing Chloe is so much more fun than it should be?**

* * *

Nathan picked up his phone and answered it.

"Yes, Chloe?"

" _Aren't you watching the news!?"_

Nathan had to yank his cell away from his ear to protect his hearing from the volume of her voice. "I don't have a television," he told her.

" _THEN USE THE INTERNET!"_ She yelled. " _Meet me in five at the rendezvous point, capiche?!"_

"Capiche, sweetheart," Nathan only heard the beginning of her heated reply before hanging up.

* * *

"That stupid art obsessed idiotic loser...!" Chloe muttered angrily under her breath after spotting him. "What took you so long!?"

Not even remotely intimidated, Nathan met her gaze before carefully delivering his reply.

"I got here as soon as possible."

"I don't want excuses, _I want results!_ " Chloe snarled, pulling out her camera.

Nathan ignored this. "Remember, I'm Silver Ink and you're Golden Lens from now on."

"Duh!" Golden Lens scoffed, "I'm not an idiot!"

"Okay Lens," Silver Ink nodded nonchalantly.

"That's _Golden_ Lens to you," She tossed her hair.

Silver Ink pulled out his phone, "Okay, Golden Lens, it looks like the action is happening at the Eiffel Tower."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Golden Lens snapped her fingers. "Quit talking about it and let's go!"

Silver Ink shrugged and began walking in the direction of the Tower. "What strategy are we using?"

"The one where we wait for the fight to end and follow Ladybug," Golden Lens rolled her eyes, "duh."

"Fine with me," Silver Ink kept his eyes on his phone, monitoring the news. "It looks like the fight is staying in the same area, near the Eiffel Tower."

"That's good," Golden Lens replied with genuine enthusiasm.

As the pair approached the tower, Silver Ink grabbed Golden Lens' shoulder.

"Don't touch my jacket!" Golden Lens smacked his hand away.

"Shhhh!" Silver Ink shushed her. "We have to keep on the sidelines so we don't get hurt!"

"Ugh," Golden Lens huffed. "I guess."

Silver Ink pulled her down to hide behind some bushes. "Down here!"

"I am not ruining my clothes by sitting on the dirty ground!"

"Keep your voice down!" Silver Ink pleaded.

Luckily, the akuma was too preoccupied with Ladybug and Cat Noir to notice the disguised teens. "Hey, we should go up to the rooftop of that building over there!" Golden Lens pointed to a building that overlooked the fight.

"That's... actually a good idea." Silver Ink studied her. "Now we just have to get over there." He spotted an abandoned food cart. "There!"

Hiding behind the cart, Golden Lens and Silver Ink moved slowly but surely across the street. The cart went unnoticed by anyone, seeing as there was two famous heroes battling an enemy bent on the destruction of Paris.

Once they were directly in front of the building, they left the cart and dashed inside. "No time for the stairs," Silver Ink began to run to the elevator.

"Good, 'cause I am _not_ ruining these shoes!" Golden Lens pressed the button. "They're _designer_!" She added indignantly after catching his exasperated expression.

* * *

They could see the fight perfectly from the rooftop. They had gotten there just in time to see Ladybug use her lucky charm. Golden Lens had her camera rolling, capturing every moment of their fight.

Silver Ink took his phone out and began recording Golden Lens.

"I'm the _amazing_ and _beautiful_ Golden Lens, and the guy recording is my mediocre sidekick Silver Ink. As you can see, we are getting quality footage of Ladybug and Cat Noir's fight against another akumatized victim." She gave the camera a sickly-sweet smile.

"You can watch the fight on the news, but we're about to catch a glimpse of who Ladybug really is!" Golden Lens tapped her camera. "This camera is the absolute best camera in the world, of course, because its mine. Using it's high-tech features, we are about to take an unforgettable picture."

As Ladybug began retreating to the shadows, Golden Lens winked at the lens. "You could almost say its golden." She moved to the side of the building Ladybug had runs towards.

The alley was dark, but a flash of light from below still prompted Golden Lens to snap a picture. She frantically checked the photo she had taken and screamed with excitement and joy. Realizing she was on camera, she quickly composed herself.

"And that is how genius and beauty work together to make this!" She pointed to the camera.

Silver Ink stopped recording. "Did you get her?"

"It's sorta dark and blurry," Golden Lens showed him the photo. "But it's a start!"

"It's still really cool!" Silver Ink gaped at the photo, his eyes fixated on the screen.

"Of course it is!" Golden Lens laughed. "I was the one who took it, after all!"

Silver Ink smiled and shook his head. "Of course."

* * *

Marinette lay on her bed, utterly exhausted.

Her ringtone went off and she answered her phone. "Hi Alya," she murmured.

"Marinette, where are you? My party starts in five minutes!"

"Wha-?" Marinette leapt off of her bed. "Uh, I'm on my way! I didn't forget!"

She frantically searched her room for Alya's present. "Bye Alya!" Marinette hung up and shoved her phone in her pocket.

"Tikki, help!"

"Its right here, Marinette." The kwami sighed. "Honestly, you need to calm down," Tikki told her kindly.

Marinette picked up the present and hugged it. "Oh, what of she hates it! What if she hates it and stops being my friend and then I never make another friend again because-"

Tikki flew up to Marinette's face. "Listen, Marinette," she spoke gently, "Alya is going to love it. In the meantime, you need to transform so we can get to that party."

"You're right," Marinette took a deep breath. "Spots on, Tikki!"

* * *

"Where is that girl?" Alya murmured, confused by her friend's abrupt hang-up.

Nino surveyed the crowd. "Alya, I'm sure she's almost here."

"I hope so," Alya replied grimly, "I really hope so."

"My man Adrien just got here, I mean, so its not like she's the only one."

"Adrien's always late." Alya dismissed this, adjusting the cups of punch on the table.

"Funny how that works," Nino began helping her, straightening the pile of napkins.

"Funny how what works?" Adrien decided to jump into their conversation at that moment.

"Nothing!" Nino and Alya replied hastily in unison.

"Just because you guys are together doesn't mean you could make me a third wheel!" Adrien crossed his arms accusingly.

"Hey, you could always hang with Marinette." Alya smiled at him innocently.

"Maybe I will," Adrien slapped his hand on the table in a clear attempt to be pretend-offended. "And there she is, so I'm gonna go talk to her," he told Nino, gesturing to the out-of-breath girl approaching the group.

"Marinette!" Alya cried, leaping forward to give her a hug.

"Happy Birthday, Alya!" Marinette hugged her back. "Where should I put my gift?"

"Adrien can show you," Alya gave her a knowing look as her friend's face flushed.

"W-what?" Marinette stammered.

"Sure thing, Marinette!" Adrien took her hand and began to lead her over to the table holding gifts. Marinette was having a silent freak out over the hand-holding and was getting more and more flustered by the moment.

Tikki noticed the growing anxiety. "Just be yourself! You almost died fighting an akuma this morning. I promise you can handle this!" The kwami whispered in her ear.

"That was Ladybug!" Marinette hissed.

"You are Ladybug!" Tikki tapped one of Marinette's earring as a reminder and flew out of sight.

 _She's right, Marinette. Just be Ladybug!_ Marinette took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Hey, your gift will fit right there!" Adrien pointed out an empty space on the table. He gently took the gift from Marinette and placed it among the other gifts.

"What did you get her?" Adrien asked.

 _Be like Ladybug._ "You know how she has her Ladyblog and is a really big fan of Ladybug?" Marinette rubbed her arm nervously.

"Yeah, of course!" Adrien nodded.

"Well, I made her a hat with black-spotted red ribbon and this cool bow. I really hope she likes it." Marinette determinedly avoided meeting his gaze completely. Instead she focused on his forehead.

"Well, you got me beat. I just gave her some money." Adrien laughed sheepishly.

Blushing at the sound of his laugh, Marinette quickly replied. "No, actually, um, she'll really like that. Alya has her eyes on a new bike so she can follow Ladybug and Cat Noir better, so some money will really help her out."

"Really?! Man, I hope she gets enough money for it."

"Same here." Marinette placed her hands behind her back and began to shift her weight from her toes to her heels.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Adrien finally spoke up.

"So, besides fashion and gaming, what do you like to do for fun?"

His question caught her off guard. "Uh, I like music and singing, I-I I guess." She stammered, brushing her hair out of her faced.

"Oh, you sing? I didn't know that."

"Yeah, like, not in front of people, I mean I could never do that!"

"Why not?" Having been shoved in front of cameras all his life, Adrien didn't understand the concept of stage fright.

"Well," Marinette struggled to find the words, "What if everyone thought I was horrible and laughed at me?"

"They wouldn't do that," Adrien fiddled with his ring, "I'm sure you're great at singing. They'd love you!"

"Thanks," Marinette yanked on a lock of her hair, thoroughly flustered and blushing furiously.

Oblivious as ever, Adrien yawned. "I dunno about you, but I'm exhausted."

Marinette was also feeling the effects of fatigue that had resulted from her nightly caper as Ladybug that had faded into that morning. "Did you not get enough sleep last night?"

"Something like that," Adrien trailed off. _I wish Ladybug was here. I miss her already._

"I'm a follower of Alya's blog, you know." He said suddenly.

"Yeah, yeah, I, uh, I knew that." Marinette stammered. _I totally don't stalk your social media and track your every move and know exactly who you follow and what brand of ice cream you like._

"Is it true you know Ladybug?"

Marinette had a planned response for people who asked her this. But today, in a one-on-one conversation with her crush, she had no idea what to say.

"Yeah, I mean, I know her, I mean, I don't know if, um, we're friends or not, but I do know her, I think,"

By his expression Marinette knew her response did not make sense.

"Uh, I mean, its hard to say you 'know' a superhero. I have her number, but we aren't like super best friends but just friends."

"How do you know her?"

Panic was slowly rising in her chest, Marinette tried desperately to calm down. "Its complicated."

Adrien sensed she was uncomfortable with the situation. "Don't worry about if you don't want to explain. I'm sure its a mess of a situation."

"Yeah." It was a weak response, but it was the best one she could come up with.

"Why don't you tell other people you know Ladybug?" Adrien asked her.

"Well, isn't that kind of, using her? I want people to like me for me, not for who I talk to or who I know." While it was based on a lie, Marinette's words rang with truth. She didn't go around bragging about designing for Jagged Stone.

"That's..." Adrien studied Marinette carefully, as if seeing her for the first time. "A really cool way of looking at it."

"Thanks," Marinette fixed her hair nervously.

"Chloe would probably be nicer to you if she knew you were friends with Ladybug." Adrien pointed out. "Its not the best way to deal with her, but don't you get tired of her picking on you?"

"How do you deal with Chloe?" Marinette asked.

"She was my only friend for a long time. Chloe's a good person, she just doesn't show it very well."

"If only there was a way to get her to show it." Marinette sighed. "What do you think I should do?"

"Chloe likes to play victim. Maybe you could give her Ladybug's autograph and say something like 'there's been some tension between us and I'd rather us not be enemies'." Adrien suggested.

"That might actually work. I mean, its not like she's going to bombard me with questions about Ladybug. She's not a reporter or anything." Marinette laughed. "Thanks for the advice, Adrien."

* * *

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


	4. Revenge

The picture was blurry, but one thing was clear.

Ladybug was a high-school girl with black hair and small purse.

Chloe and Nathan had released their video to the news, but withheld the picture for further investigation. Remembering Alya's Ladyblog segment that concluded Ladybug went to their highschool, the pair began to create a list of black-haired girls in the school.

Now they sat on Chloe's bed, planning their next move.

"I say we get alibis from Marinette and Juleka first." Nathan drew a star by both of their names. "Once they can prove they were somewhere else, we'll check them off the list."

"But Ladybug has been seen at the same time as these two." Chloe argued.

"True, but it is good to double-check."

"I guess you're right." Chloe agreed.

Nathan noticed that Chloe was being strangely agreeable. Her voice had lost the pompous arrogance he knew so well. It had a softness he hadn't heard before, but still rang with authority.

"Really?"

"Yeah, that's what I said, right?" Chloe tilted her head in confusion, giving him a strange look.

Nathan nodded and began to write down more names. "Who do you think it is, Chloe?"

"I have no idea." Chloe yawned. "I'm tired." She swayed and lay down, her head falling on the pillow. Chloe's eyes slid closed, and her breathing slowed.

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

When no snarky reply came, Nathan concluded she was truly asleep and silently left the room. He turned the light off and locked the door on the way out.

* * *

Chloe woke up by herself. She panicked when she found the lights off and couldn't find Nathan.

 **Chloe: nathan where r u?**

 **Nathan: my house**

 **Chloe: ?**

 **Nathan: u fell asleep when we were working so I decided to leave**

 **Nathan: i think u needed the sleep**

 **Chloe: oh sry**

 **Nathan: np**

 **Chloe: y dont we finish working over txt**

 **Nathan: ok**

 **Chloe: what r we going 2 do when we find out who Ladybug is**

 **Nathan: idk**

 **Chloe: it would be the news story of a lifetime**

 **Nathan: i know we would be famous**

 **Chloe: aren't we already**

 **Nathan: i guess so**

 **Nathan: my parents want me sry g2g**

 **Chloe: bye**

 **Nathan: bye**

* * *

Marinette had an autograph ready to give to Chloe the following day. "We will probably never be friends, but maybe she'll just leave me alone after this."

She set her bag down at her desk and carefully approached Chloe. Cautious as ever, she tentatively tapped Chloe's shoulder. As soon as Chloe saw who it was, her eyebrows furrowed in suspicion.

"Um, hi Chloe," Marinette cleared her throat awkwardly, "I've noticed that we have a lot of trouble getting along, and I was hoping to agree on a truce with this, uh, peace-offering." She handed the autograph to Chloe.

Chloe snatched it out of her hands and gasped. "Is this real!?" She gaped at it, then looked at Marinette, realized what she was doing, and quickly regained her composure.

"I mean, your 'peace-offering' is appreciated, but I still hate your guts." Chloe flipped her hair and sat down. "What are you still standing here for? Take a picture, it'll last longer."

"Of course, Chloe." Marinette groaned.

Adrien turned around and gave her a thumbs-up, mouthing the words 'good job' and making the whole ordeal worthwhile.

Alya nudged her after Adrien turned back to the front of the room, giving her a sly smile.

"Shut up, Alya," Marinette bit back her smile.

"I totally saw you flirting at my party, by the way," Alya snickered.

"That was not flirting!" Marinette whispered back.

"Marinette and Adrien sitting in a tree..." Alya sang quietly under her breath.

"Again, _shut up, Alya!"_ Marinette hissed, despite the smile that rested on her face from the idea of her and Adrien together.

Marinette felt something nudge her foot. She turned away from Alya to pick up a folded piece of paper. After unfolding it, she saw that it was from Chloe.

 _Hi, Marinette. If you were able to get me Ladybug's autograph, that means you know her. Please answer the following questions if you wish the truce to continue._

 _When is Ladybug's birthday?_

 _Does Ladybug have a boyfriend?_

 _What is Ladybug's favorite color?_

 _What are Ladybug's real initials?_

 _Any other information you know about Ladybug's personal life, please write below._

Marinette took a deep breath and tried to play it off like Ladybug was a very secretive friend. _I don't know, I don't think so, red, and I don't know._

In the space below Chloe's final request, Marinette began to write an explanation.

 _Chloe, Ladybug is very secretive about her real life. When we do talk, she never discloses any personal information that could give any clues as to who she is. I am very sorry I cannot be of more help.  
-Marinette_

* * *

Marinette gave Chloe the note after class, not wanting to get in trouble. She waited as Chloe read it, bracing herself for verbal blows.

"Well, I guess I couldn't expect much from you," Chloe ripped up the note and threw it away. "Thanks, I guess, for trying." Her tone was condescending, but her words contained none of the abrasive insults Marinette had been expecting. Chloe crossed her arms and stalked off, leaving Marinette to wonder what had just happened.

"Hey, Mari! Have you heard about Golden Lens and Silver Ink, the two reporters out to get Ladybug?" Alya showed her the video that had been released.

"What?!" Marinette began to panic.

"They even got a picture of her after she de-transformed!" Alya squealed. "I would so love to be in league with these guys."

Marinette suddenly felt very faint. How could she have been so reckless? "Do they know who she is?"

"No, they say that the picture doesn't show exactly who she is, only that it gives them some clues." Alya tapped her screen. "Golden Lens and Silver Ink are so cool, though."

"I'm sure they are," Marinette was beginning to freak out. "I have to go, Alya. See you tomorrow!"

* * *

When Marinette got home, she flopped on her bed. "Oh, Tikki! What am I going to do?"

Tikki flew out to comfort her. "Don't worry, Marinette. You've just got to be a little more careful about de-transforming. They only have a blurry picture."

Marinette gave Tikki a small smile. "You're right, Tikki. I promise I'll make sure I'm out of sight before I turn back into me again. I'm glad I have you for advice."

"Sure thing, Marinette!" Tikki returned her smile brightly.

"Another thing, Tikki. Both Adrien and Chloe think that I'm best friends with Ladybug! I can't keep answering their questions without raising suspicion!" Marinette took one of her pictures of Adrien off the wall and held it to her chest. "I love talking to Adrien, but I hate lying to him about Ladybug."

"I don't think you have to worry about Chloe." Tikki assured her. "She's under the impression that you and Ladybug aren't that close.  
But Adrien,"

Tikki flew up and took the picture of him away from her. "I think it'd be wrong to push him away, but you can't keep using Ladybug as an excuse to talk to him. Maybe you could invite him out for smoothies tomorrow, and start something completely away from Ladybug."

"What if he keeps asking?" Marinette helped her kwami hang the picture back on the wall.

Tikki thought about this for a moment. "I don't think he will. He's not that type of person."

"You're the smartest kwami ever, Tikki." Marinette sat down at her computer. "I just hope I can do this."

"Tell Alya!" Tikki struggled to bring Marinette her phone. "Its always good to have your friends behind you."

 **Marinette: alya! guess what!**

 **Alya: what**

 **Marinette: i'm going 2 invite someone out 2 get smoothies 2morrow**

 **Alya: is this someone a model ;)**

 **Marinette: maybe... :)**

 **Alya: is this model named adrien agreste ;)**

 **Marinette: yes i'm really nervous tho**

 **Alya: don't worry u got this!**

 **Marinette: you'll have my back the whole time, right?**

 **Alya: of course! u can do this!**

 **Marinette: thanks :)**

 **Alya: np :)**

Marinette plugged her phone in to charge. "Thanks again, Tikki. I don't know what I'd do without you and Alya behind me."

Tikki smiled and flew in circles around Marinette. "You've just got to believe in yourself."

* * *

Chloe was happy she had Ladybug's autograph, but thoroughly disappointed Marinette was not much help.

The list of black-haired girls at her school was overwhelmingly long, and Chloe felt like they would never find Ladybug. She wanted to text Nathan, but was afraid of coming across as lonely and desperate.

She tried distracting herself. Chloe bought an expensive necklace online, chatted with Sabrina over the phone, and ordered ridiculously expensive room-service.

Nothing really seemed to work. She really wanted to talk more about Ladybug with Nathan. Chloe hated the idea of needing somebody else. She liked to be independent, strong, and adored.

Lately it seemed that she was depending on others, she had grown weak, and she was doing all the adoring.

Unable to stand being left alone with her thoughts, she sent a text to Nathan.

 **Chloe: tv**

 **Nathan: ?**

 **Chloe: the code, remember?**

 **Nathan: floor**

 **Chloe: y werent u at school 2day**

 **Nathan: sick**

 **Chloe: marinette knows ladybug**

 **Nathan: really?**

 **Chloe: she gave me ladybugs autograph but avoided all my questions**

 **Chloe: what r we going 2 do when we find out who ladybug is?**

 **Nathan: about that**

 **Chloe: ?**

 **Nathan: I don't think this is a good idea**

 **Chloe: what?**

 **Nathan: exposing ladybugs identity could compromise her safety**

 **Chloe: but we're so close**

 **Nathan: its been fun and we got our 15 secs of fame but**

 **Nathan: i just don't think we should follow through**

 **Chloe: u begged to be on this project. i was kind enough to let u work w/me and now ur telling me u want 2 quit!? u r being so selfish! i can do this by myself but i thought u actually wanted to do this.**

 **Nathan: i'm being selfish? r u kidding me? who humiliated me in front of the whole class by announcing i had a crush on marinette? who constantly reminded me that this was your idea, not mine, the entire time we worked on this, insulting me and belittling me along the way?! r u kidding me?! who actually wants to ruin a superhero's career for their own self-benefit? take a look in the mirror chloe and let this be your wake-up call. You don't deserve to be famous, you only care about yourself. dont ever talk to me again.**

Nathan turned his phone off and threw it across the room, trying to convince himself that his revenge was worth it.


	5. Sadness

Chloe arrived at school a mess. She looked dazzling, with perfect makeup and hair paired with a stunning outfit. But Nathan's words had left her feeling strange.

If strange meant betrayed, distraught, and heartbroken.

Perhaps they had been friends after all.

Of course, it didn't matter now. He would never speak to her again. She would never hear her patronizing 'loser' get refuted by an innocent 'sweetheart' in their goodbyes. She would never hear her phone ping with a text from him in the middle of the night.

Everyone around her had always done whatever she wanted. Sabrina did everything she asked, her dad gave her everything she wanted, and everyone else listened out of fear.

Nathan had never cared. He had always waved away her insults and arrogance, similar to the way Adrien did. But Nathan dared to test her. He would subtly get under her skin, but quickly back away as soon as she began to get frustrated.

He was the first person to ever push her away like this. And it hurt. A lot.

Chloe just wanted to curl up and cry her eyes out. She felt so angry, like she wanted to watch the world burn, but so sad she might just have a mental breakdown in class.

She noticed Marinette talking to Adrien and felt the fury rising in her heart. They seemed so happy, and no one in the world should be happy when she felt like this.

For the first time ever, she was glad when the bell rang. Marinette went back to her seat and Chloe focused on her. The light blush on her cheeks and her wide smile made Chloe realize something.

 _Marinette likes Adrien._ Chloe wanted to kick a wall. Why was everyone moving on? Why couldn't she move on?

The entire class, Chloe stared straightforward, glaring said daggers at the blackboard. With every second her anger grew. Hurt by Nathan's words, her sadness was kindling for the rage she was about to unleash on everyone.

At the end of class, Chloe was furious to see Marinette walk over to Adrien.

"Hey, Adrien!" Chloe curled her hands into fists at her cheerful tone. "Wanna grab a smoothie with me this afternoon?"

"Sure!" Adrien accepted, oblivious as ever. "What's the occasion?"

Chloe couldn't take it anymore. She marched over to them and exploded.

"Isn't it obvious, Adrien? _Marinette has a crush on you!"_

* * *

Marinette blushed bright red and buried her face in her hands. Tears of embarrassment pricked at her eyes as she began to cry. She turned towards the door, ready to run.

"Marinette, wait!" Adrien grabbed her arm in attempt to stop her.

The distressed girl yanked it away and bolted out the door. She slammed it shut behind her, the dashed to the entrance of the school. She heard Alya and Adrien calling after her, begging for her to come back.

Marinette kept running. _Where am I gonna go?_ Her legs were getting tired.

"You have to go back, Marinette!" Tikki urged.

"Shut up, Tikki!" Marinette sobbed, ducking behind a building. Before Tikki could comfort her, Marinette said the words and transformed into Ladybug.

As Ladybug, she used her yoyo to make it to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Defeated, she sat down and began to cry.

"Look, Paris," She cried, "It's your great hero, defeated by a stupid crush!" She picked up a rock and hurled it a hard as she could.

"I'm no hero." Ladybug whimpered. "I'm just a scared little girl."

* * *

Adrien had returned home on Alya's orders. She had told him it would be best for him to stay out of it.

He was lying on his back, wondering what he should do. All this time he'd been chasing after Ladybug, who was clearly disinterested. But Marinette was right there, right in front of him the whole time.

He felt pretty stupid for not realizing it, for not appreciating her. In a lot of ways, she was better than Ladybug. Dating a superhero would be super hard because even the simplest bits of information could not be shared.

Marinette was pretty easy-going, and fun to talk to. Adrien knew he would always care for Ladybug, but that maybe it was time to move on.

He just needed Marinette to be okay so he could tell her.

* * *

Chloe was on her bed, feeling empty. Usually causing other's pain gave her a sense of power and control, but today she just felt hollow and broken.

She preferred the sadness and anger over this unhuman feeling with no name.

 **Chloe: I'm sorry, Nathan.**

The girl hit the send button and turned her phone off, unwilling to read his reply. Chloe then lay on her back on her bed, staring at the ceiling and wishing for sleep to come.

It didn't, however. Only tears. She cried for the way she'd treated Nathan. She cried over every time she hurt Sabrina. Chloe cried out of regret for telling Adrien about Marinette's crush on him. She cried out of anger at herself for every akuma she had caused.

She cried for everyone. Everyone but herself.

* * *

Ladybug saw the akuma coming. She used her lucky charm to generate an object for the akuma to go into: a photo of Adrien.

The akuma amplified her anger, but her miraculous amplified her good character.

She was fighting the akuma's power, but it made her weak. So weak she could not break the lucky charm and release it.

Ladybug took a deep breath and tried to rip the picture. It wouldn't rip. _Please, Tikki, if you can hear me, tell me what to do._

Ladybug closed her eyes and concentrated, which was hard with the akuma blurring her judgement. If she knew one thing, it was that Tikki would want her to be calm and think. _Akumas are caused by anger._ She was still angry at Chloe. She needed to forgive Chloe.

"I forgive Chloe," Ladybug whispered. The picture still wouldn't rip.

How could she truly forgive Chloe?

 _Tell her._ Ladybug could almost hear Tikki trying to help her out. "Thank you, Tikki." Ladybug sniffed.

Drained of energy, Ladybug forced herself to her feet. "Time to pay Chloe a visit," she murmured, wiping her eyes with her arm. "Tikki, please give me the strength to make it there."

Every move was agony, she felt stiff and sore all over. Knowing this was the akuma and Hawkmoth trying to get her to give in, Ladybug summoned up all her energy and hurled her yoyo out.

Using the string to pull herself forward, she leapt from building to building. Every step was met with a wave of pain and exhaustion.

"Keep going, Marinette." Ladybug urged herself to keep moving. "You got this."

She remembered how Alya and Tikki always had her back. Ladybug, in minds eye, saw her parents and friends, smiling and happy.

Ladybug used this to get the energy she needed to fight the akuma. "I've got to save them. I can't be akumatized." She lassoed herself onto the top of the hotel and used it as and anchor as she hung on the side of the building.

She knocked on Chloe's window. "Oh Chloe, please open up."

Ladybug was surprised when the window opened almost immediately. She tumbled in, collapsing on the floor. Her earrings beeped, telling her she only had one minute before her ability to resist the akuma was taken away.

"Chloe," Ladybug managed, "Chloe, look at me."

Chloe wiped her tears away, not wanting her hero to see her in this state. "What do you want?" She muttered miserably.

"Chloe, I forgive you."

With those words, Ladybug felt the soreness drain out of her body, and with a sigh she ripped the piece of paper. The little butterfly, already purified from it's vessel's power and forgiveness, flew away.

"Bye bye, little butterfly..." The akuma was gone, but the energy she had used to fight it was gone also. Ladybug's eyes fluttered closed and she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

When Ladybug de-transformed, Chloe turned away, refusing to look at her. She didn't want to know who Ladybug was anymore. She just wanted to be friends with Nathan again.

"Chloe, help," Ladybug's strangled voice sputtered weakly. "Chloe, you've got to help me."

"I can't, Ladybug. I'll see who you are." Chloe sniffed.

Marinette coughed. "Since when do you care?"

"Since I tried to expose you. Since someone exposed me, to myself."

"Please help me!" Ladybug begged. "You don't have to tell, but I'm hurt and I need your help."

"Why?" Chloe muttered. "I'm just a bad person who can't help anyone but herself."

"Then prove you're better!" Ladybug pleaded, her voice shaking from the effort it took to speak. "Turn around, and help me."

"I promise I won't tell," Chloe whispered, more to herself than Ladybug, and then turned around to help the fallen hero.


	6. Forgiveness and Facing Fears

**Sorry about that cliffhanger!**

* * *

"Marinette?!" Chloe gasped. " _You're Ladybug?!"_

The girl she'd hated all her life was the hero she'd looked up to and adored. The shock of the news subsided, however, when she saw the pain in Marinette's eyes.

She forced her conflicting emotions down. "Marinette, what's wrong?"

"Akuma..." Marinette took deep, laboring breaths. "Gone now, but Tikki needs food." She opened her hand, revealing a strange red creature.

"She can save me, fix the damage the akuma did." Marinette coughed. "But she needs food."

"Uh, okay!" Chloe began to pace around her room, anxiety and panic beginning to set in. "Okay, what kind of food?"

"Cookies."

"Hang on, I have some." Chloe tried to bury her feelings. A small part of her wanted to leave Marinette, but she pushed it away. Ladybug needed her.

She returned with the cookies, setting them by Marinette.

"Thank you," Marinette sighed. The small red creature crawled out of her hand and began to eat.

Chloe sat in silence as the red creature ate for a while. _Marinette is Ladybug. Marinette is Ladybug. Marinette is Ladybug. Marinette is Ladybug, Marinette is Ladybug._

"Sp-spots on Tikki."

Chloe watched as the creature was sucked into her earrings and Ladybug appeared before her eyes.

"Thank you, Chloe." Ladybug picked herself off the ground. "You're a good person for doing that."

"I fed that thing cookies," Chloe muttered, "Yeah, I'm a total saint."

"Tikki needs energy to give me the power to transform." Ladybug explained. "Fighting the akuma inside of me almost killed me. If I hadn't been able to transform I could've died. You see, Tikki helps me withstand more than a regular human. But since I used my lucky charm, I de-transformed. She can't protect me when I'm not Ladybug."

"Oh." Chloe wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

"Are you okay?" As much as she despised the girl, Marinette felt pity for Chloe. "What's wrong?"

Chloe felt conflicted and depressed now. She hated Marinette, but loved Ladybug. Who was she talking too?

 _Does it matter?_ The small voice inside of her convinced her to push aside her feelings. Chloe had never listened to this small voice before, even though she often heard it, especially in her daily antics of putting people down.

"I'm a bad person." Chloe admitted, looking at her hands as she sat on her bed.

Ladybug eyed Chloe strangely. "As a super hero and defender of Paris, I'm a bad person too. I've hurt people before, burned bridges."

"But you're Ladybug! And Marinette! Everybody loves you."

"But I'm also Marinette, the jealous girl who hurt others to get what she wanted, and Ladybug, the hero who caused an akuma. Chloe, you aren't perfect, but nobody else is either." Ladybug explained.

"I know that!" Chloe threw her hands up exasperatedly. "How do I fix that?"

"Apologize and move on?" Ladybug sighed. "I'm sorry, Chloe, I'm not very good at this."

"It's okay," Chloe took a deep breath as Ladybug moved towards the door. "And Marinette?"

Ladybug turned her head to look at Chloe, confused.

"I'm sorry about telling Adrien," she admitted. "And I believe this is yours." She held out the pen she had bought from Alya.

Ladybug paused after taking the pen, unsure how to respond. "Thank you for promising not to tell this secret."

* * *

Nathan had given up on reaching Chloe via text. He'd been feeling guilty about his little revenge since he'd done it, but when he got her apology text he immediately knew he'd done the wrong thing.

He had his sketchbook open on his lap to the page where he had drawn his plan the day Chloe and him had teamed up.

 _1\. use security tapes as leverage to be her partner_

 _2\. be nice to her, but not too nice_

 _3\. once she starts to trust you bring up that you're backing out of the plan_

 _4\. Chloe will get angry_

 _5\. use opportunity to tell her who she really is_

He ripped the page out of the book, crumpling it up and throwing it across the room. Nathan now knew what he should've done. He should've left the situation where it was.

He chucked his sketchbook at the wall, the guilt gnawing at the sides of his stomach. Nathan needed to fix this. If he couldn't reach her through her phone, he would have to reach her at her house.

Nathan dragged himself from the bed, sickness and fatigue dragging him back. However, he wasn't about to rest up when he had a mess to clean up.

* * *

"I'm a friend of Adrien's." Marinette folded her hands neatly in front of her, her back straight and her expression unreadable.

"Uh, okay," Nathalie kept her eyes focused on her computer. New emails from Gabriel Agreste required her undivided attention. She took a second to glance up at Marinette, decided that she wasn't a threat, and gave her permission to go on up.

Marinette began to walk up the spotless white stairs, her hand shaking as it ran along the smooth marble railing. Her breath came out quick and panicked. _Its better to do it now than at school with everyone watching._

The feeling inside her was strange. A certain exhilaration of him knowing overwhelmed her along with the possibility that he liked her too, but that was combined with the fear of rejection. She took a deep breath and tried to console herself, knowing that she was about to see him in a couple minutes.

"You got this Marinette," the girl whispered to herself, brushing stray locks of dark hair out of her face. She stopped at Adrien's door and took a deep breath.

Marinette pulled out her phone and put her camera into selfie mode, making sure she looked as pretty as possible. She opened her purse to put her phone back in her pocket and was met with a reassuring glance from Tikki.

She gave Tikki a weak smile and knocked on the pristine white door.

A couple seconds later, Adrien opened the door. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw who it was.

"Marinette! You're okay!"

"Yeah," Marinette fumbled with the clasp on her bag. "About today, I'm sorry for r-running off, I, um..."

"I know." Adrien smiled at her warmly. "And I'm sorry for being so oblivious."

"It's okay," Marinette giggled nervously. "To be fair, I was trying to make sure you wouldn't found out."

"I didn't eat lunch today," Adrien said randomly.

"Huh?" Marinette was confused.

"And we never got those smoothies," Adrien continued. "If you want, we could go to that smoothie place and then come back here and hang out."

"Really?" All of the best emotions in the world seemed to wash over Marinette at once.

"Well, yeah!" Adrien confirmed.

"I'd love to!" Marinette was overcome by euphoria at her crush's acceptance. _He's asking me out. He's asking me out!_

"What are we waiting for?" Adrien laughed, taking her hand. He stopped laughing to look at Marinette. "And Marinette?"

She met his intense gaze with wide blue eyes.

"I like you, too."

* * *

Nathan arrived at Chloe's room twenty minutes after leaving his. He knocked on her door nervously.

"Its unlocked," a miserable voice murmured from inside.

Nathan turned the doorknob and walked in to see Chloe on her bed. Her makeup was smudged and her eyes were red from crying, her shoulders were slumped forward with hopelessness.

"Chloe, I got your text." Nathan sighed, holding up his phone. "And you shouldn't have to apologize."

"Yeah, I should!" Chloe cried. "I am a horrible person! I-"

"Just let me talk!" Nathan interrupted. "I was never really your partner. This was all some scheme I drew up to get revenge for telling everyone I had a crush on Marinette!"

"What?"

"It was wrong of me to manipulate you, and I'm sorry."

"No, thank you!" Chloe began to cry again. "You've showed me who I was and now I know that I need to change!"

"But you were already changing! I could tell, by the way you treated me you were actually starting to be my friend. It was really fun being Silver Ink and Golden Lens, and even if we can't expose Ladybug, that doesn't mean we can't keep being reporters!"

Nathan ran to her bathroom and returned with a washcloth. "Can you forgive me and continue being Golden Lens?"

Chloe took the cloth and wiped her tears away. "Only if you forgive me." She smiled tearfully. "You're the best Silver Ink I could've asked for. I was a bad person, and I swear on my life I'm going to try to change that."

"I guess we've both been pretty unappreciative of each other." Nathan grimaced. "But we can work on that." He pulled something out of his pocket, a bracelet.

It was made of black leather that had one charm: a small golden circle.

"It's a phone camera lens I painted gold," he explained. "I know it's not made by some famous designer but-"

"I love it," Chloe slipped it on her wrist. "And I have something for you, too." She walked to her bedside table and pulled something from the drawer.

She held out a silver pin shaped like a silver pen _._ Chloe smiled brightly as she pinned it on his jacket.

"Friends?" Nathan opened his arms.

"Friends," Chloe hugged him wholeheartedly. _And maybe something more someday._

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading my story! Please leave a review!**


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